REALISING LOGISTICS 4.0
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A decade later, shipping containers would become standardised, leading to enormous efficiencies across the entire logistics industry.
THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS? Supporters of Logistics 4.0 (L4.0) – applying fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies to the logistics sector – are hoping for a similar jump. But as with many digital ambitions, it’s tough to move from plans to reality. “The logistics industry varies substantially – typically making up close to 20 per cent of the
gross domestic product,” says Martin Bailey FCILT, vice president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. “Some components have moved into the 4IR, but much of the industry and related processes are relatively unsophisticated.” According to flexis, a supply chain solution provider, L4.0 typically encounters three barriers: reducing shadow IT (unapproved software) and information silos; breaking free from past-oriented planning; and ditching the spreadsheet. This last point is perhaps
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he story of the shipping container is a microcosm of logistical evolution. In 1955, Malcom McLean sold the third-largest transportation business in the US and bought a steamship company with access to a port. He then created the first modern shipping container, designed to fit snugly on a specific type of truck. Stackable, he could fit 58 such containers on an oil tanker he acquired. This jump in efficiency enabled McLean to charge prices a quarter cheaper than his competitors.
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Are South African logistics companies adopting digital? JAMES FRANCIS finds out
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S U P P LY C H A I N M A N A G E M E N T
2021/09/08 12:55 PM
